Tag Archives: Marcus Fabrics

Ready for the New Designer Duo Quilt-Along?

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Nancy Rink and Sarah Maxwell are all set to bring you “Mix It Up”, another exciting quilt-along project, and this one begins on May 17!

The designers “mix it up” by adding different 12″ blocks to the core combination of 18″ and 6″ blocks, and of course each uses her own fabric collections – Nancy uses DO THE MATH and GETTING TO KNOW HUE while Sarah uses her SEW SWEET BATIKS and PRETTIFUL POSIES.

And, not only can you choose to recreate one (or both!) of their quilts shown above…But you’ll also benefit from the creative input of several of the duo’s quilting buddies, including Dolores Smith of Timeworn Toolbox Designs, Elisabeth Hardy of Elisabew Quilts, Tiffany Hayes of Needle in a Hayes Stack, and Karen O’Connor of Lady K Quilts.

Happy Stitching!!

Coming Soon to Quilt Shops Near You…

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We know…spring weather is “thisclose” and we can’t wait!  And our upcoming collections prove that there’s fresh inspiration to be found everywhere, from traditional prints and palettes to silk neckties, from a tranquil garden to a coastal paradise, from an elegant manor to America’s Favorite Pastime  If you’re in need of a creative boost, check out what’s coming to quilt shops near you in the coming months:

Share Your CIRCA 1880 CLUB Picture, Like Karen Did!

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Pam Buda, and all of us at Marcus, are thrilled to see the Circa 1880 Club in full swing in quilt shops across the country and beyond!  Pam just shared this photo from Karen, a friend Pam traded blocks with when creating her own Circa quilt.  Karen is one of the 70 Circa participants stitching at Pieceful Gatherings in Fox River Grove, IL:

An impressive sight!  Many of the shop’s members sent them in by mail for trading.

How is your club progressing?  Remember that your participating quilt shop can enter our video contest, to complete for the grand prize — a trunk show visit from Pam Buda, or one of two other great quilt shop prizes — have your shop look into the details!

And just for fun, club members can email club pictures for possible inclusion here on our blog!!  (Please be sure you have the permission of anyone visible in your photos before you send them.)

 

Celebrate National Embroidery Month with Our Newest Designers!

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February is National Embroidery Month!  And it just happens that the newest additions to our design family are both embroidery experts!  We asked them to share a few of their favorite tips for creating beautiful hand embroidered projects.

Cindy Staub of Quilt Doodle Designs debuted with Marcus last month with her SNOWMEN SNOW GLOBE BOM program, using her pre-printed panel and coordinating PRIMO PLAID FLANNELS: New Blues. We love Cindy’s mix of blue flannel stars surrounding the “snowfriends” globe, which she cut from the panel.  On the panel you’ll find other fun design elements suitable for smaller projects, whether stitched or used as they are.

We asked Cindy to share a few embroidery tips; these are some of her favorites:

  • Use good quality thread such as Valdani #12 pearl cotton. “I am fond of the variegated thread since I like the extra dimension it gives my stitching.”
  • Have a small scissor handy for snipping threads. Cindy uses the OLFA.applique scissors.
  • If you are a beginner to embroidery, don’t fret, you don’t need to know a bunch of stitches. “Good stitches to begin with are a backstitch
    and French knots.”
  • Cindy also recommends using a light to medium weight fusible (iron-on) interfacing to underline your fabric, it helps hide your thread from the ‘backside’.

Karen Phillips-Shwallon made her design debut for Marcus with HEIRLOOM SPLENDOR, a trio of pre-printed panels ready for your thread embellishment and more.  The designs would be perfect for wedding and anniversary gifts and new baby keepsakes, as well as everyday home decor enjoyment.

She also share a few favorite creative products:

  • For her stuffwork dimensional needlework Karen prefers Tuscany 100% Premium Polyester OR  Mountain Mist Light as her batting and DMC Perle #12 thread
  • Embroidery thread:  DMC Perle #12
  • Embroidery needles:  John James  JJ135-3-9
  • Quilting thread:  Mettler Silk Finish quilting thread 50 wt solid cotton
  • Quilting needles:  Tulip 10 quilting needles (“the best”)

Look for these beginner-friendly pre-printed panels in quilt shops – Heirloom Splendor is available now, and Snowmen Snow Globe comes to quilt shops in June, when we’ll likely welcome cool thoughts as we line up new stitching projects for fall and winter!

For Our PEEPS Superfans!

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Sweet news for fans of PEEPS, the iconic chick and bunny candies…

We just learned that Kellogg’s is introducing PEEPS cereal!  It’s available for a limited time, likely thru the Easter season (the holiday falls on April 21 this year).  So of course, our thoughts shifted to perfectly themed springtime table settings featuring the latest PEEPS fabric collection, arriving in your local quilt shops now!

Stitch up quick and easy table runners, placemats, mugrugs, napkins, even Easter basket liners and more ; ) for a fun and colorful season! It’s beginning to feel like Springtime already…About Just Born Quality Confections

 Just Born Quality Confections is a third generation family-owned company founded in 1923, headquartered in Bethlehem,PA, and the makers of PEEPS®, HOT TAMALES®, MIKE AND IKE® and GOLDENBERG’S PEANUT CHEWS® Brand Candies.  All Just Born candies are made in the U.S.A.

The PEEPS® brand and PEEPS® shapes are trademarks of Just Born, Inc., Bethlehem, PA, USA, and are used under license. © 2018-2019

 

 

“Step Back in Time” with Paula and Mary Ellen

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Congratulations to Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robison on the release of their latest book, Step Back in Time (Martingale).  Reproduction-fabric collectors and antique quilt lovers alike will love this the much-anticipated follow-up to Tributes and Treasures!  The Red Crinoline Quilts design duo presents an all-new, jaw-dropping collection of 13 of their vintage-inspiredquilt patterns. Each quilt design is paired with a fascinating historical account from the 1800s. More than 70 beautiful photos capture the style and sentiment of this unique era in American quilting history.

You’ll enjoy recreating their designs with your favorite Paula Barnes collections, including BALTIMORE HOUSE and her newest line (stay tuned for that one – it’s coming soon!!)

Look for the book at your local quilt shop, or visit Martingale.

   

Goodbye, Holidays…Hello, BOM Sign-Up Season!

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Hello Quilting Friends!  If you haven’t signed up yet for your favorite 2019 Marcus BOM programs yet, remember that January marks the start of three exciting block-of-the-month programs, followed by three more beginning in March.  You’ll love these gorgeous designs by Nancy Rink, Pam Buda, Sarah Maxwell, and Sheryl Johnson.

Never tried a BOM?  We’ve got the Top Ten Reasons why you should! So, check out the program details, then visit your local quilt shop to participate!

Fifty-Two Gorgeous KI-COO GARDENS Quilts!

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Well, the Electric Quilt Design Challenge for October has come to a close, resulting in a total of 52 great entries from quilters using Electric Quilt to design quilts using Laura Berringer’s KI-COO GARDENS collection.  You can view all of the creative designs here, but for now we’d like to highlight the two entries chosen as winners in EQ’s random drawing!

Holly Wilson describes her creation as “A Little applique wall (hanging), with Ki-Coo Gardens, which provided a spin on the colors I would have normally used. The color palette can be used with a multitude of designs.”

Debbie Langendorf said of her winning entry (below): “I’ve been making small quilts and thought this might be very nice for Spring. I love the colors of these fabrics. They are bright and happy. Because my block has small triangles I wanted the Points Out border to highlight more of the fabrics. This was fun.”

Both Holly and Debbie Will receive fabric packs of Ki-Coo Gardens prints.  Well done, ladies, enjoy the real fabrics this time ; )  And thanks to everyone who participated, as well as our friends at EQ.

Quilt Market Happens Just DAYS From Now!

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…and if you’re attending, we look forward to seeing you in the Marcus Brothers/Studio 37 Fabrics Booth #1801! These are just a few of the featured collections you can see up close and personal:

And there’s more…

—SCHOOLHOUSE:  “CREATIVE BLOCK EXCHANGE with Pam Buda’s Circa 1880 Club”  Friday, Nov. 2,  Room 362F, 3:45-4:15pm

—NEW BOM and CLUB PROGRAMS from your favorite designers, including Pam Buda, Sheryl Johnson, Krisann Watkins, Nancy Rink and Sarah Maxwell.

—BOOK SIGNINGS with Sheryl Johnson (Sat, Nov 3 at 2pm) and Pam Buda (Sun, Nov 4 at 11am)

—CREATIVE DEMOS by Sarah Maxwell, PLUS… Sarah and Nancy Rink will discuss and SNEAK-PEEK their upcoming Quilt-along, “Mix It Up”!

Safe travels, everyone — We’ll see you soon!

(Boards by Miriam Rawson)

Happy World Embroidery Day!

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Yes, today is World Embroidery Day!

In 2011 a local group belonging to Broderiakademin, the Swedish Embroiderers’ Guild, took the initiative to plan and create a special day to celebrate embroidery. World Embroidery Day was born. It’s now celebrated yearly on July 30.

So we thought we’d celebrate with a sneak peek at some of the embroidery work in our office, both finished and in-progress:

A while back, Brandy added lush embroidery stitches over the floral motifs of Laura Berringer’s INDIGO INFLUENCE, all raw-edge appliqued onto a background of Laura’s hot pink COLOR INFLUENCE texture print!  We loved the results ; )

Pati just started a yet-to-be-identified project, using our all-cotton BASECLOTH as the foundation.  I think she actually started this on her bus commute  ; )  The Basecloth’s slightly pebbled texture and medium weight make it the perfect support for all types of embellishments.  It’s also great for clothing, which you can then embellish as you like.Look for all eight colors at your favorite quilt shops.

       

Next, in the showroom we came across this gorgeous pillow, a contemporary design by Miriam Gourley. She adds hand stitching over a mix of FADE OUT neutral tonals by Laura Berringer, with appliques of Kim Eichler-Messmer’s IMBUE BATIKS.

We could all probably use little “embroidery break”, a minute to slow down end enjoy some creative, tech-free handiwork, so why not today? As mentioned on the World Embroidery Day website, “Make 30th July a day filled with creativity for the sake of Peace, Freedom and Equality”. Check out the manifesto in English, and find links to other languages on the site, too — Happy Stitching!